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Introduction to Public Health

destroys the pathogenic substance in side the affected part of the body.

•Surgery: Though rare, literatures report the practices of tonsillectomy median episiotomies, amputation, and caesarian section. In Ethiopia presently the most common procedures that entail the excision of an anatomical part are Circumcisions and Uvulectomy.

•Miscellaneous practices: Additional ethno medical procedures include bathing, bone setting and cupping. Thermal springs have traditionally been important in Ethiopia in treating skin diseases, syphilis, leprosy, rheumatism, and other ailments. Segregation of highly contagious patients is generally enforced, especially in case of leprosy. Bone setting techniques vary among ethnic groups. Traditional practitioners treat bone fractures, dislocation and sprains. Therapeutic cupping is practiced along side other bleeding techniques. Its main objective is to extract “bad blood” from the body, which is thought to be decaying internally causing tissue swelling and ill health.

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It is prescribed for elephantiasis, rheumatism, high fevers, headaches and others.

Additional ethno medical practices include dentistry involving the use of modern carpenter pliers to extract aching teeth, eye, and brow cutting to treat conjunctivitis, and scrapping the buccal tissue in the case of tonsillitis.

4.6. Exercise:

Discuss the traditional health practices you know from your locality, their intention and implication on health.

What are the differences between the naturalistic ethnologies and magico-religiuios theories?

What is the definition of health according to the ethno medical settings? And what are the factors affecting health?

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CHAPTER FIVE

FAMILY HEALTH

5.1Learning objectives

At the end of this chapter, the students are expected to:

Define Family and family health.

Describe the reason why there is a focus on family health

5.2Family

Family is a social unit composed of group of individuals who are related by blood or marriage or adoption, live under the same roof and share a common kitchen, and/or share common social responsibilities. Such social unit is defined primarily by reference to relationships which pertain to arise from reproductive process and which are regulated by law or custom, especially relationship established between a couple by marriage and those existing between a couple as parents and

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their children. However, it has to be differentiated from household.

Household consists of a group of individuals who share living quarters, take their principal meal from the same kitchen, i.e. live under the same roof, and eat from the same kitchen. There are two types of householdsprivate households (or family households) and institutional (or non-family) households like hostels, jail, etc.

Nuclear family

Nuclear family includes a male and female couple related by marriage or living together by common consent, with or without children.

Extended family

The extended family is multigenerational and consists of the nuclear family and relatives of both parties, whether or not living in close geographic proximity. The extended family provides a broader basis of mutual support.

5.3Family Health

Family Health deals with problem of health of the whole family as a single and fundamental social unit. Special and great emphasis is given to family health since the

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problems of rapidly growing populations have important consequences at the family, community and the national level. Problems of maternal and child health, and human reproduction, including family planning, are now seen as aspects of the greater problem of the health of the whole family.

In developing countries like Ethiopia, families often consist of large numbers of children born to poorly educated parents living in poverty. The father or less commonly the mother may be absent for long periods while working in a distant place. This can create serious health hazards for all family members. In societies where death of adults occurs from civil wars, famine, or infectious diseases such as AIDS, raising of children by single parents, neighbors, or older siblings is common. Abandonment of children is also common in such situations.

Why do we focus on family health?

The family structure provides an important foundation for physical and emotional health of the individual and the community. A healthy family is a basis for a healthy society and healthy nation. Marital and family status and

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interaction among family members affect each person's health and the well being of the community and nations Family health mainly focuses on maternal (mother’s) heath and child health. Both at the national level and internationally, maternal and child health are among the major priorities with special focus on primary health care, since women and children have health needs different form those of the general population.

Public health must be sensitive to the special needs of the family by providing appropriate health promotion, disease prevention, medical care and support programs for each member of the family and the family as a whole.

Maternal health

Maternal health deals with insuring safe mother hood for all women of the world. This includes care for females starting from their conception through various stages of growth and development with special emphasis to women of childbearing age. Here pregnant mothers will get great emphasis towards care before delivery (prenatal care), care during labor and delivery

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(childbirth), and care after delivery (postnatal care) and family planning.

Women’s health issues relate to their many roles: as individuals, workers, wives, mothers, and daughters. This demand for life long responsibilities for knowledge, self-care, and family leadership in health related issues, such as nutrition, hygiene, education, exercise , safety, fertility, child care, and care of the elderly. Changes in the social roles of women create extra demand and risks in health.

Family Planning

It is a conscious effort on the part of a couple in planning the size of the family and thus consists of the restrictions of births or limitation of births either temporarily to achieve the planned interval between successive births or permanently to prevent more births than planned by the usage of various contraceptive techniques. Family planning and spacing of pregnancy is a vital issue in developing countries, where the burden of frequent pregnancies contributes to high maternal and infant mortality rates. It enables women to determine the time, spacing, and frequency of pregnancy, as well as adoption of children. Accordingly, it prevents Too Early

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(e.g. Teenage), Too Soon (e.g. Short inter pregnancy interval), Too Many (e.g. Too many pregnancies and children) and Too Late (e.g. in older women >35 years) pregnancies. It includes a range of methods for preventing or terminating pregnancies, while maintaining a normal sex life. Male’s involvement is of paramount importance in family planning especially in the decision making.

Child health

Public health has long played a major leadership role in improving the health of children by provision of care and regulation of conditions to prevent disease, provide early and adequate care of illness, and promote health.

Child health includes care for newborns, breast feeding and feeding practices, Immunization, growth monitoring and well baby clinics, treatment of common childhood infections, school health activities and advocating for the rights of children

5.4Exercise

What is family health and why is there a focus on family health in the health system?

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List the components of family health activities.

How does family planning contribute to family health?

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CHAPTER SIX

PERSONAL HYGIENE

6.1 Learning objectives

At the end of this chapter, the students are expected to:

Define Hygiene.

Describe the importance of hygiene to the individual and community

6.2 Hygiene

The concept of hygiene dates back to the time when the first man has moved in to the caves to protect himself from the forces of nature that act against his survival. The known religious leaders, Prophet Moses and Prophet Mohammed have stated to their followers to wash their body before religious practices and even before meal. This practice is more probably true to the other religions and sects of the world.

Hygiene is a word derived from hy.ge.ia the goddess of health in Greek mythology meaning the science of

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